Portable computers, with ever increasing processing speed and capabilities, have incurred some new problems. Notebook computers were designed to be compact and portable. As a result, the design of notebook peripheral components have moved away from the more ergonomic designs associated with desktops to the less comfortable but more compact designs for notebooks. Portable computer designs may reduce certain component sizes, such as a monitor or keyboard, to achieve the portable feature. In some instances, the designs eliminate certain computer components to reduce the weight and size of the computer to further achieve portability. In other designs, components such as optical disk drives and floppy disk drives may be provided as a modular interchangeable media device to allow users to select a computer component for use. The size of the computer housing may be reduced, which does not permit a user to place standard sized expansion cards, such as peripheral component interconnect (PCI) cards in the housing. Despite the performance increases, portable computers such as laptop or notebook computers still are at a disadvantage relative to other computers. Due to their small size, portable computers typically are not able to offer as much functionality as stationary computers, as a limited number of interfaces are present. For example, one of the disadvantages with notebook computers is that, in general, the sound system, and other features of the notebook computers are not of the same high quality as those of the desktop computers. Other disadvantages are a smaller screen and less ergonomic screen position, keyboard and input devices, such as a trackpoint or trackpad. In light of this disadvantage, most notebook computers can be connected to a desktop monitor and an external sound system. Furthermore, various expansion devices have been developed that enable the portable computer to extend its battery life as well as its multimedia capabilities. This development has been spurred by users' desires to overcome the inherent functional limitations, with respect to size, weight, and battery life, of portable computers. To increase a functionality of a portable computer, one or more external or peripheral devices such as a mouse, keyboard, monitor, printer, A/C power adapter, CD-ROM drive, etc. can be coupled with the portable computer. Each of these devices, however, must be individually connected to the portable computer. Connecting and disconnecting each of these devices with the portable computer is a tedious task, especially if the portable computer is regularly transported from one place to another.

In an effort to address these problems, laptop docking stations have been developed. A docking station is a stationary module that can be electrically connected to a number of external devices. In addition, the docking station is configured such that a notebook computer can easily be connected to the docking station. A docking station allows a portable computer to be used as a desktop computer for use in the home or office. Docking stations have been designed to alleviate the task of individually connecting and disconnecting external or peripheral devices with the portable computer by facilitating operable coupling of the portable computer with external or peripheral devices either housed in the docking station or connected to the docking station. The peripheral devices are coupled with the docking station such that when the portable computer is docked or coupled with the docking station, the portable computer is coupled with the peripheral devices. The docking station when connected to a portable computer provides for a number of different types of ports. These ports are used, for example, to drive a large monitor, communicate with various peripherals provide connection to a network. A docking station couples to a laptop computer in one easy connection to make it more convenient to use a laptop computer in a desktop environment. The docking station may be coupled to a variety of peripheral devices such as a full size keyboard, a mouse, disk drives, a full size LCD monitor, a printer, and others. Such peripherals devices which are operably coupled to connectors located on the docking station housing are typically left at the home or office when the portable computer is removed for use outside the home or office. Therefore, a laptop user may make one simple connection to a docking station and have access to a host of peripheral devices not typically available in a laptop computer. In essence, the docking station allows a notebook computer to be indirectly connected to the external devices that are connected to the docking station when the notebook computer is "docked" to the docking station. A docking station generally indicates a hardware frame and a series of interfaces for electrical connection, with which functions of a notebook computer can be executed effectively like a desktop computer. These interfaces typically allow the notebook computer to communicate with a local printer, large-capacity storage devices or backup drives, and other devices, which are separately provided to a notebook computer. The docking station may further include a network interface card (NIC) with which the notebook computer is allowed to access to a local area network (LAN). The docking station can take the form of a port replicator which mates with the computer and passes I/O signals to common connectors to provide easy connection to a keyboard, pointing device, video monitor and other I/O devices.

A typical docking station includes an electrical connector or interface which mates with an electrical connector or interface of the laptop computer to electrically couple the docking station and the laptop computer. The docking station typically contains slots for expansion cards, bays for storage devices, and connectors for peripheral devices, such as printers and monitors. Once a portable computer system is docked in a docking station, the resulting hybrid system functions essentially as a stationary computer system. When working at the desk, the user docks the portable computer at the docking station by physically loading the computer onto a docking tray. Once physically mated, the portable computer is electronically interfaced via connectors on the docking station to control the peripherals. When a laptop is docked on a docking station, the docking station typically provides the power for both the laptop and the docking station. Typical docking stations include a mechanical attachment device. The portable computer is actually attached into the docking station and must be detached by the docking station before the portable computer is portable. Docking stations range in their sophistication and available extensions to the portable computer. A scaled-down docking station merely extends a set of peripheral ports for the docked portable computer. Power might also be directed through a port replicator so that the portable computer need not be manually plugged in before desktop use. Port replicators generally attach to a single connector on the portable computer. The port replicator duplicates the connectors typically found on the portable computer and may add additional functionality to the system. These connectors often include PS2 keyboard and mouse connectors, serial connectors, parallel connectors, Universal Serial Bus (USB) connectors, audio input and output connectors, and video connectors. More sophisticated stations offer integrated computer peripherals in addition to peripheral ports and bus systems. For instance, a docking station might include sound peripherals such as speakers, hard disk drives, CD ROM drives, DVD drives, and tape backup systems. Some docking stations have a locking device that allows the portable computer to be secured to the tray of the docking station either manually or using a motor.